Is open concept out?

[Anonymous]

Open concept is good for builders. It's just a big box without walls. cheaper to build.
It's good for homeowners that do not mind having cooking smells and noises travel through out the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for an architect and I can’t remember having a client who wanted to close anything off that wasn’t a bedroom, bathroom, closet mud room, gym, ot office. Without exception every single project we work on a home involves opening something up.

With that said, trends don’t matter, do what makes you happy. I don’t think open concept is a trend, it is just the casual lifestyle people have had for the last 25 years.

yep.. all new builds have open concept, even here in the DC area.

IMO, open concept is not a "trend". Sure, some people don't like it, but if it's a trend, the trend has lasted for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm open concept all the way - because I cook and spend pretty much most of my day in the kitchen. I would hate being cut off from everyone.

+1 I guess we aren't as formal as some, but when we have friends over, we all hang out in the kitchen and chat and munch on appetizers as we cook. When I had a closed kitchen, I was always away from everyone while I prepped. I could not join in on the discussion and the laughter.

I went to a friend's place for dinner, and when they had to go into the kitchen, we sat by ourselves in the LR. I just don't find closed kitchens sociable.

When kids want to watch tv, they go into the finished basement where the biggest tv is.

[Anonymous]

The question is really much simpler than this. People want light bright kitchens with space for cooking and hanging out. If you have a huge house and can get a big kitchen with plenty of natural light, room for cooking, room for hanging out, then it might not matter if it's not open to other rooms. If you are dealing with a smaller space and to get that natural light and extra room, you have to knock out walls, then that is better.

I just don't believe that we will ever go back to dark, cramped, crowded kitchens, in any era. It really depends on the size of the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Open concept is good for builders. It's just a big box without walls. cheaper to build.
It's good for homeowners that do not mind having cooking smells and noises travel through out the house.

Drafter here who posted up thread. Open concept is actually more expensive to build. A load bearing wall is much cheaper than a flush beam. Flush beams require deeper ceiling joists than a load bearing wall. Modern engineering concepts for residential housing is what allowed the application of flush beams.

[Anonymous]

I think it’s on its way out to an extent. The problem is that when the middle class adopts a trend, it goes all in. The average middle class home couldn’t just have some grey countertops or whatnot. Instead, they redid their entire house in grey. The average flip even has grey floors. Everything is grey.

It’s like that with the open concept. Once the middle class started liking open concept, they started removing every wall in their downstairs. Your average flip has very few walls.

[Anonymous]

I don't know if it's out but when I was looking I crossed open concept off my list.

[Anonymous]

Now that I have a child, I definitely see the value of separated spaces

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Open concept is very out. People are in some way working from home now forever - whether hybrid or full time. Add in kids and that creates a loud messy house with open concept.

No, open concept is not "out" or "very out". It is a taste and there are many who like it and many who don't.

What seems to be in is snobby folks who want to complain and act superior because they like traditional floor plans and look down their noses at open concept.

At this point, there is and will be a market for both traditional and open concept. You should buy and live in whichever you prefer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know if it's out but when I was looking I crossed open concept off my list.

and when I see a closed up kitchen, I cross that off my list. I like socializing with people while we cook and prep. I guess we are just really informal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Open concept is good for builders. It's just a big box without walls. cheaper to build.
It's good for homeowners that do not mind having cooking smells and noises travel through out the house.

Drafter here who posted up thread. Open concept is actually more expensive to build. A load bearing wall is much cheaper than a flush beam. Flush beams require deeper ceiling joists than a load bearing wall. Modern engineering concepts for residential housing is what allowed the application of flush beams.

I love it when experts come on here and school posters who think they know what they are talking about. LOL

Almost everyone I know who has remodeled their kitchen has blown out the walls to create an open concept, and yes, with a cross beam.

I know no one who has purposefully put up a wall to make the kitchen area smaller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Open concept is very out. People are in some way working from home now forever - whether hybrid or full time. Add in kids and that creates a loud messy house with open concept.

No, open concept is not "out" or "very out". It is a taste and there are many who like it and many who don't.

What seems to be in is snobby folks who want to complain and act superior because they like traditional floor plans and look down their noses at open concept.

At this point, there is and will be a market for both traditional and open concept. You should buy and live in whichever you prefer.

There are also hybrid options where kitchens are semi-open, usually with the bar area and sink open to the living room and the rest of the kitchen hidden behind the wall to contain the mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for an architect and I can’t remember having a client who wanted to close anything off that wasn’t a bedroom, bathroom, closet mud room, gym, ot office. Without exception every single project we work on a home involves opening something up.

With that said, trends don’t matter, do what makes you happy. I don’t think open concept is a trend, it is just the casual lifestyle people have had for the last 25 years.

Maybe when it comes to opening up a kitchen, I believe you, but it's totally bunk if you are talking about other spaces if you worked for an urban architect. There is plenty of demand to create closed off rooms when housing price goes over 1k/sq.ft and families want to make it work.
Urban townhomes where the walls were removed to create vast master bedrooms and dressing rooms and open living spaces for a childless couple tend to sit on the market longer, and if bought by families would undergo inevitable reconstruction of walls. And if you worked for an architect in NYC, you would be putting more walls in than taking them out to make bedrooms out of dining rooms, sleeping alcoves in studios, etc. Kitchens usually still undergo "opening up" because it makes the small spaces look larger, but not always. Galley kitchens are still abound to preserve precious cabinet space.

[Anonymous]

The question is really much simpler than this. People want light bright kitchens with space for cooking and hanging out. If you have a huge house and can get a big kitchen with plenty of natural light, room for cooking, room for hanging out, then it might not matter if it's not open to other rooms. If you are dealing with a smaller space and to get that natural light and extra room, you have to knock out walls, then that is better.

I just don't believe that we will ever go back to dark, cramped, crowded kitchens, in any era. It really depends on the size of the house.

+1 I agree with this. We have this . . . a big kitchen with a pretty big eat in area and doors to the deck. There is plenty of room for "hanging out" there when people come over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work for an architect and I can’t remember having a client who wanted to close anything off that wasn’t a bedroom, bathroom, closet mud room, gym, ot office. Without exception every single project we work on a home involves opening something up.

With that said, trends don’t matter, do what makes you happy. I don’t think open concept is a trend, it is just the casual lifestyle people have had for the last 25 years.

Maybe when it comes to opening up a kitchen, I believe you, but it's totally bunk if you are talking about other spaces if you worked for an urban architect. There is plenty of demand to create closed off rooms when housing price goes over 1k/sq.ft and families want to make it work.
Urban townhomes where the walls were removed to create vast master bedrooms and dressing rooms and open living spaces for a childless couple tend to sit on the market longer, and if bought by families would undergo inevitable reconstruction of walls. And if you worked for an architect in NYC, you would be putting more walls in than taking them out to make bedrooms out of dining rooms, sleeping alcoves in studios, etc. Kitchens usually still undergo "opening up" because it makes the small spaces look larger, but not always. Galley kitchens are still abound to preserve precious cabinet space.

PP was pretty clear. You seem to think you know better. Are you an architect?